Union Berlinโs fairy tale continues but Bayern Munich is lurking. Janik Haberer scored twice for Union to upset Borussia Dortmund 2-0 and consolidate their early-season Bundesliga 2022-23 lead, while Bayern enjoyed a 5-0 rout of Freiburg on Sunday. (More Football News)
๐Habererโs two first-half goals dealt Dortmund its fourth defeat from 10 games so far. The win lifted Union four points clear of Bayern at the top after 10 rounds โ and seven points ahead of Dortmund.
โSerge Gnabry, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Leroy Sanรฉ, Sadio Manรฉ and Marcel Sabitzer all scored for Bayern to end Freiburgโs 11-game unbeaten streak across all competitions and replace the visitors in second place.
เดโSuper Bayern, super Bayern,โ the home fans sang as the Bavarian powerhouse emerged as Unionโs main challenger even without the injured Manuel Neuer and Thomas Mรผller.
UNION ENJOYING THE MOMENT
โUnion coach Urs Fischer said supporters were entitled to celebrate and dream of winning the title but the clubโs target remains 40 points and Bundesliga survival. โGerman champion will only be FCU (Union Berlin),โ the Union fans sang as their team stayed top for the fifth consecutive weekend with 23 points. Fischer remains more cautious.
โโI think if you set a target you should reach it before setting new ones,โ said Fischer, who led Union to Bundesliga promotion through a playoff in 2019. โWeโre not the ones who should dream, but who should retain focus.โ
โUnion pushed forward from the start and Haberer got an early reward thanks to a mistake from Dortmund โkeeper Gregor Kobel in the eighth minute. Kobel slipped at an inopportune moment to give Haberer an easy finish.
๐The Union midfielder got his second goal in the 21st with a low shot inside the left post after Jordan Pefok laid the ball back after good interplay involving Sheraldo Becker. Union should have gone on to score more goals as the home team dominated the opening half.
๊งDortmund was restricted to just two chances in the first 45 minutes, with the home teamโs constant harrying forcing concessions and mistakes from the visitors. Unionโs players challenged at every opportunity, winning most, and every 50-50 ball seemed to go their way.
๐ทIt was exactly how Fischer wants his team to play. The Union coach received the loudest cheer of โFuรballgott (soccer god)โ from appreciative home fans before the game began.
เฝงDortmund counterpart Edin Terziฤ reacted with three changes at the break, including bringing on captain Marco Reus for his comeback from an ankle injury sustained in the Ruhr derby win over Schalke on September 17.
๐ฆฉPerhaps inevitably, Unionโs intensity dropped and Dortmund had even more of the ball, though Fischerโs team still created the better chances.
๐ Fischer was forced to change in the 67th when American forward Pefok limped from the field with an unspecified injury. The coach said afterward he didnโt know how serious it was and was still waiting for an update from medical staff.
๐ผUnionโs fans rose to their feet to urge their team on for the final minutes, then celebrated by singing about winning the title.
BAYERN MOVE SECOND
๐งธBayern has never been beaten at home in the Bundesliga by Freiburg. Sundayโs win was its 20th from 23 meetings between the teams in Munich.
๊ง Bayern stayed four points behind Union, which was one of the teams to frustrate the 10-time defending champion during its four-game run without a win earlier this season. Earlier, Cologne came from behind to beat Augsburg 3-2 with a late goal from Steffen Tigges.
